I haven't blogged for a few weeks. Life has just been a bit ... bleurghh. Nothing major - just feeling tired and lacking motivation. I have managed to do a bit of sewing though and would like to share my progress on my Midnight at the Oasis quilt. I am a little behind many of the others in the quilt-a-long but I am looking forward to lazy days over the next few weeks and catching up.

I didn't follow the instructions for the applique border. Normal technique would involve doing the applique and then attaching the borders. I was disappointed when I attached all the orange peels (read here) as it didn't look like I imagined. So I attached the borders and then arranged the applique pieces as I didn't want to have a similar reaction when I put it all together. I used the same method I did for the orange peels to prepare all the shapes for the circles and flowers and attached then with applique basting glue (Roxanne's). It has taken me weeks but all the pieces are stitched down and now it is time for the churn dash border.

These blocks are 3" finished. So tiny and so cute. I was worried about them but they are addictive. I used my AccuQuilt 1" HST die to cut corner blocks and then made the rest using strip piecing and a centre block.

They are tiny and so easy to mess up if your 1/4" isn't spot on. I used a thin thread and smaller than normal needle to help improve my accuracy. The truth of the matter will be revealed though when I attach all of them when they are done.

I have had some issues using the die. A lot of threads weren't cutting properly. This is the first issue I have had with any of my (rather numerous) collection of dies. I did try another method to make the churn dash blocks and have to admit to being rather chuffed at how they turned out. I though I'd share the method I used as a bit of a tutorial. I should admit I didn't come up with this method but can not remember where I first saw it done. Sorry, anyway this is what I did.

I made pinwheel blocks using my 2" finished HST die. I chained pieced 4 pairs and then joined them together. If you were cutting this normally you would cut a 2 7/8" squares in half (you need 2 squares or 4 triangles of each colour).

Then I made 1 1/2" cuts horizontally and vertically across the blocks. These cuts gives 9 little blocks measuring 1 1/2" each. A little rearranging of the blocks makes a churn dash block with a extra tiny pinwheel block in the middle.

Amazingly making the blocks this way measures 3 1/2" (unfinished) and even more surprisingly they are the same size as the other ones I made. I swapped the centre pinwheel around to make it a little more interesting and to contrast with the rest of the block so the churn dash stands out more.

I have been sewing a few other things but will leave them for another post. I hope everyone is well and managing to do a little bit of what you love each day.

One should have a great imagination to combine the colours fitted to each other in the one picture.

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About me

Thanks for dropping by. I am a mum to two gorgeous boys - Boy and Boog who are 5 yrs and 2 yrs old and just adorable (like their Daddy). Four years ago I discovered quilting, though I have always sewn. I hope you enjoy reading how I juggle quilting and my already busy life as I try and set up a business selling my handmade products